Bristol City's aerial weaknesses were exposed on Tuesday when Luton undeservedly snatched three points following two innocuous set-pieces.
Manager Nigel Pearson highlighted the issue as the club's "Achilles heel" which could explain the reasoning why the Robins have signed 6ft 4" defender Timm Klose on a free transfer, with the Swiss international agreeing a deal until the end of the season.
Klose, 33, has been on trial since last Friday and watched Bristol City Under-23's in action on Tuesday afternoon as he gained accustomed to his surroundings while taking note of the rising talent coming through the youth set-up.
We spoke to Norwich City journalist Adam Harvey from the Eastern Daily Press who gave us the lowdown on Klose and what City fans can expect if he puts pen-to-paper.
Should Bristol City fans be concerned with Timm Klose's fitness and injury record?
Timm Klose had numerous spells on the sidelines during his time with the Canaries, some for longer sustained periods than others. Initially, when he joined the club in January 2016, he was a crucial component in the clubs' rise out of the Premier League relegation zone.
Before a knee injury against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in early April (2016) ended his season and there is a strong argument from many supporters that it was the biggest factor why the club ended up suffering relegation.
More recently (August 2019), the former Swiss international suffered PCL knee ligament damage in a League Cup second-round defeat against Crawley Town that looked to have ended his season. Until the pandemic hit and gave the defender a longer period of recovery, that meant he returned for project restart.
But it was evident he was off the pace and still suffering the effects from his injury. Although, Daniel Farke had no option but to play him due to other injuries in the central defence at that time.
It is evident that his knees are an issue due to the regularity of his injuries in that area and the injury at Crawley in reality ended his association with Norwich. This would have to be a concern for any Bristol City fan, as you cannot rely on him being available or fit for sustained periods of games and he has not been the same player for a few seasons now since that injury.
How highly regarded is Klose by Norwich supporters?
Timm is seen as a cult hero at Carrow Road; he stayed with the club during periods when there was firm interest from Premier League/Bundesliga clubs. The 95th-minute equaliser he scored against Ipswich Town to maintain the Canaries unbeaten run is still talked about to this day.
He scored plenty of other crucial goals during his spell and was renowned for a passionate or quirky celebration, one memorable one being against Birmingham when he headbutted the corner flag.
Arguably more than just Timm Klose the player for Norwich, who was a loyal servant and always gave 110%, it was his affection for Norfolk and Norwich as a city that built that connection with fans. He would support local businesses, take time to do local charity work by selling hats, and communicate with fans on social media, which is something of a rarity in the modern game.
Is he more suited as a centre-back pairing or is he comfortable in a back three?
Predominantly, he would play in a central defensive pairing. He had many different partners during that period but he always looked comfortable with whoever he was playing alongside.
He was only ever mainly deployed in a back three for Norwich when he first joined the club, as Norwich and Alex Neil looked to tighten the defence in games against the Premier League big guns.
In the Championship it was more often than not a flat back four due to Daniel Farke's preferred formation being a 4-2-3-1. However, he is comfortable and flexible enough to play in a two or a three, due to the ball-playing nature of his game.
Is he a player that is comfortable playing out of the back and having the ball at his feet?
Yes, I would go as far as to argue it is one of his major strengths.
He is more than comfortable on the ball and has the ability to pick out both short and long balls to get the team on the attack. If Bristol City fans want to see this in action, I would recommend finding his pass to Emi Buendia for his goal against Brentford in October 2018.
He is a very calm and assured character but also a very intelligent modern footballer, something I can only assume was nurtured during his days in the Bundesliga.
I also cannot remember an occasion when he made a major error passing it out from the back, definitely not under Farke whose philosophy was built on playing progressive possession-based football which required defenders that were good on the ball. Farke let lots of good Championship defenders such as Ryan Bennett or Russel Martin depart the club, but he chose to keep Klose which demonstrates his ability on the ball is strong.
Does he have any other strengths?
He can read the game better than most centre-halves I have seen play for Norwich down the years and even though he isn't your natural strong rough tumble Championship defender, he is not afraid to make a big tackle at crucial moments.
He is also a goal threat from set-pieces; he scored 10 times for the Canaries in 117 league games, so he is not afraid to pop up with a goal and these always tended to be in big moments in big games.
And how about his weaknesses?
His physicality was an issue at Championship level throughout his spell at the club, particularly in the early seasons. I can name many times he got bullied by bigger and more bullish strikers, although there is an argument, he got more to grips with that in the season that Norwich won the title in 2018-19.
His speed is also an issue; he was never a quick defender but that appears to have only been hampered further since the various injuries he has suffered, so a lot depends on who he is partnered alongside.
I would say the biggest weakness is his injury and fitness record, you cannot sugar-coat that. That element is also made worse by the fact he hasn't been playing regularly for a few years, as even his spell on loan at FC Basel wasn't as successful as many imagined.
City's Achilles heel recently has been their inability to defend set-pieces, is he a player that could help resolve that issue?
He is an aerial threat in both boxes, so add this to his ability to read situations, then you would have to feel he would help with this issue.
He doesn't lack height, so he is more than capable of winning balls in the air. The issue I had with him defending set-pieces at Norwich more boiled down to Daniel Farke's zonal-marking tactics, as often he might get caught out by a man running from deep into the box.
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